That's a wrap

That's a wrap

Ray Martin, Times Staff

Artist-in-residence Sue Sturdy has been busy this week with a small arm of volunteers at the Main Street Bridge working on her KnitCambridge project. About 1,000 knitters from around the world have donated pieces of knitting to wrap around the bridge. The knitting will be on exhibit for the rest of this month.

When Sue Sturdy took on the role of artist-in-residence, her goal was to do something big. She has definitely surpassed her objective.

In developing the KnitCambridge project, Sturdy wanted to get as many people as possible involved and do something “that would put a smile on people’s faces”.

With the assistance a cherry picker from Can Lite services and a small army of volunteers, she has spent the last few days wrapping the Main Street Bridge with hundreds of pieces of knitting gathered over the last six months from knitters from around the world.

“We’ve had about 1,000 knitters donate pieces for KnitCambridge,” she said. “We’ve got pieces from across Waterloo Region, Owen Sound, Toronto, B.C., the U.S. southwest and even New Zealand.”

The purpose of the project is to remind local residents of the city’s connection with the textile industry.“It’s been a lot of work and we’ve gone through a lot of hoops to make it happen, but it’s really been worth it,” she said. “The response I’ve gotten from the community has been amazing. Anyone I’ve asked to help has helped and people just walking down the street have come and volunteered to help us put it up.”

The official ceremony marking the opening of the KnitCambridge exhibit on the Main Street Bridge takes place Saturday at 3 p.m. The exhibit will remain until Sept 27.

Sturdy said she is going to need anther army of volunteers to take the knitting down. All the pieces will be washed and cut into scarves, afghans and blankets – some of which will be donated to groups like the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank and The Bridges (Cambridge’s homeless shelter).

Other pieces will be given some finishing touches and be auctioned off Nov. 25 at the Tie One On Party being staged at Cambridge City Hall. Proceeds from that event will go to support the Cambridge Centre For the Arts.